Famous Dave

Yet another huge, themed restaurant is slated to open in River North, raising questions whether the area, which has become a restaurant and entertainment mecca for the city, is beginning to reach its saturation point. Famous Dave's of America, a publicly traded, Minneapolis-based restaurant firm specializing in barbecued ribs, blues music and a Chicago decor, confirmed that it has signed a lease to build an 18,000-square-foot restaurant and blues club at 737 North Clark. Expected to...

Summer isn't complete until you've had your hands and mouth smothered in barbecue sauce and there's nary a wet nap in sight. Naperville's Ribfest caters to the meat-lover lurking in the hearts of men, women and children alike. Yep, animals are cute and they have their charms, but some folks just can't turn down a plate of ribs dripping with sauce of the sweet or tangy variety. And the beauty of Ribfest lies in the collective messiness of all its participants. Forget the embarrassment of walking around with a...

Opening festivities for Famous Dave's Bar-b-que restaurant will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at 206B Yorktown Center in Yorktown Mall in Lombard. Dave Anderson, a member of the Choctaw, Chippewa and Ojibwa Indian tribes, will continue his opening tradition, the Passing of the Fire ceremony, in which fire will be brought from the most recently opened restaurant and passed on to the new location.

No year-in-review story can ignore the devastating, brutal attacks of Sept. 11, which left an indelible imprint on the entire world. In the business world, the attacks were felt particularly strongly by the restaurant industry. Not only was the famed Windows on the World restaurant destroyed and many of its employees killed, but restaurants also reeled from the aftermath of drastically scaled-back business. The tragedy of Sept. 11 also illustrated the restaurant industry's remarkable resiliency and its...

After two months of renovations totaling more than $1 million, Famous Dave's, a barbecue rib restaurant chain, is set to open in Palatine. From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Famous Dave's will offer free samples of ribs and cornbread in its parking lot at 1101 E. Dundee Rd. The restaurant will open at 11 a.m. Aug. 30. The company, which has nine Chicago-area locations, including Naperville, Vernon Hills and Carpentersville, plans to open more than...

By Dean Richards. Dean Richards is the host of Food Time at noon Sundays on WGN-AM 720 | October 10, 2001

People are as passionate about their ribs as they are about their politics. I'm no exception. Here are my picks for Chicago's best: American Smokehouse (66 W. Main St., Lake Zurich, 847-726-2272): Southern-style smoked barbecue, including pulled-pork sandwiches, is the specialty--along with a variety of seafood. Don't miss the baked-brie-and-smoked-gouda appetizer with amaretto applesauce. Freddy's Ribhouse (1555 N. Sheffield Ave.; 312-377-7427; 26 W. Hubbard St., 312-863-7427)

By Dean Richards. Dean Richards is the host of Food Time at noon Sundays on WGN-AM 720 | October 10, 2001

People are as passionate about their ribs as they are about their politics. I'm no exception. Here are my picks for Chicago's best: American Smokehouse (66 W. Main St., Lake Zurich, 847-726-2272): Southern-style smoked barbecue, including pulled-pork sandwiches, is the specialty--along with a variety of seafood. Don't miss the baked-brie-and-smoked-gouda appetizer with amaretto applesauce. Freddy's Ribhouse (1555 N. Sheffield Ave.; 312-377-7427; 26 W. Hubbard St., 312-863-7427)

Paul Wildermuth of Red Light and Arun Sampanthavivat of Arun's are collaborating on an upscale Chinese restaurant at 1301 S. Wabash Ave. The restaurant, which will be operated by the KDK Group, will sit across the street from Gioco, another KDK property. Opening is scheduled for March 1, 2002. KDK Group also will assume management of Founder's Hill Brewing Co., 5200 Main St., Downers Grove. Plans call for completely reworking the menu (which is good news) but retaining the...

Avenues has opened in the new Peninsula Chicago hotel, 108 E. Superior St. (rising above the Tiffany & Co. and Polo Ralph Lauren stores on Michigan Avenue). The fifth-floor, luxury-level restaurant features cuisine de la mer, or contemporary European seafood, by executive chef Gerhard Doll and mentoring chef Yves Mattagne. (I don't know what a mentoring chef is, either, but I gather someone else will be cleaning the fish.) The 72-seat dining room features an exhibition kitchen with golden-marble...

After two months of renovations totaling more than $1 million, Famous Dave's, a barbecue rib restaurant chain, is set to open in Palatine. From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Famous Dave's will offer free samples of ribs and cornbread in its parking lot at 1101 E. Dundee Rd. The restaurant will open at 11 a.m. Aug. 30. The company, which has nine Chicago-area locations, including Naperville, Vernon Hills and Carpentersville, plans to open more than...

Summer isn't complete until you've had your hands and mouth smothered in barbecue sauce and there's nary a wet nap in sight. Naperville's Ribfest caters to the meat-lover lurking in the hearts of men, women and children alike. Yep, animals are cute and they have their charms, but some folks just can't turn down a plate of ribs dripping with sauce of the sweet or tangy variety. And the beauty of Ribfest lies in the collective messiness of all its participants. Forget the embarrassment of walking around with a...

It's a shame Isaac Hayes couldn't actually taste the food during the official opening of his new restaurant here over the weekend--which actually is a merger with the Famous Dave's barbecue place at 739 N. Clark St. But at least Hayes had an excuse for passing on the ribs and other fare on the menu: He's fasting. "I do it four or five times a year," the 58-year-old Hayes told Inc. between his two Saturday shows at his new food-and-music joint. "I also detox, which keeps my body...

Now comes the awkward time of the holidays. The big celebrations are over, but the relatives are still in town. Where to take the extended brood for a meal out? Here are a few places that are good for larger parties: Bob Chinn's Crab House, 393 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, 847-520-3633. No party is too large for this seafood specialist, which has room for hundreds of diners. You'll probably wait a bit for a table, but the operation is surprisingly efficient. Plenty of fresh...

Avenues has opened in the new Peninsula Chicago hotel, 108 E. Superior St. (rising above the Tiffany & Co. and Polo Ralph Lauren stores on Michigan Avenue). The fifth-floor, luxury-level restaurant features cuisine de la mer, or contemporary European seafood, by executive chef Gerhard Doll and mentoring chef Yves Mattagne. (I don't know what a mentoring chef is, either, but I gather someone else will be cleaning the fish.) The 72-seat dining room features an exhibition kitchen with golden-marble...

Paul Wildermuth of Red Light and Arun Sampanthavivat of Arun's are collaborating on an upscale Chinese restaurant at 1301 S. Wabash Ave. The restaurant, which will be operated by the KDK Group, will sit across the street from Gioco, another KDK property. Opening is scheduled for March 1, 2002. KDK Group also will assume management of Founder's Hill Brewing Co., 5200 Main St., Downers Grove. Plans call for completely reworking the menu (which is good news) but retaining the...

The Pump Room, in the Omni Ambassador East, 1301 N. State Pkwy., has a new executive chef. Andrew Coates, who was chef and owner of The Greenery until it closed recently in Barrington, takes over the kitchen, replacing Martial Noguier, who left to become executive chef at one sixtyblue. Deville has opened at 3335 N. Halsted St. (formerly home to Oo-La-La). The restaurant, owned by Dion Antic, features a contemporary American menu designed by Patrick Concannon (Don Juan's) and has a strong...

The Pump Room, in the Omni Ambassador East, 1301 N. State Pkwy., has a new executive chef. Andrew Coates, who was chef and owner of The Greenery until it closed recently in Barrington, takes over the kitchen, replacing Martial Noguier, who left to become executive chef at one sixtyblue. Deville has opened at 3335 N. Halsted St. (formerly home to Oo-La-La). The restaurant, owned by Dion Antic, features a contemporary American menu designed by Patrick Concannon (Don Juan's) and has a strong...

Now comes the awkward time of the holidays. The big celebrations are over, but the relatives are still in town. Where to take the extended brood for a meal out? Here are a few places that are good for larger parties: Bob Chinn's Crab House, 393 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, 847-520-3633. No party is too large for this seafood specialist, which has room for hundreds of diners. You'll probably wait a bit for a table, but the operation is surprisingly efficient. Plenty of fresh...

No year-in-review story can ignore the devastating, brutal attacks of Sept. 11, which left an indelible imprint on the entire world. In the business world, the attacks were felt particularly strongly by the restaurant industry. Not only was the famed Windows on the World restaurant destroyed and many of its employees killed, but restaurants also reeled from the aftermath of drastically scaled-back business. The tragedy of Sept. 11 also illustrated the restaurant industry's remarkable resiliency and its...

Opening festivities for Famous Dave's Bar-b-que restaurant will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at 206B Yorktown Center in Yorktown Mall in Lombard. Dave Anderson, a member of the Choctaw, Chippewa and Ojibwa Indian tribes, will continue his opening tradition, the Passing of the Fire ceremony, in which fire will be brought from the most recently opened restaurant and passed on to the new location.